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So, some of you out there may have been invited to a forum that videoNEXT is putting on at ASIS. At first glance, it's the same-old, same old: "The Future of Video Surveillance." Ho, hum.
And look at the panelists:
Steve Hunt, CPP, CISSP, Founder, Hunt Business Intelligence
I think he's actually cloned himself so he can speak more often.
Fredrik Nilsson, General Manager, Americas, Axis Communications
Always enjoyable, but you can catch him pretty often, too.
John Honovich, PSP, Founder of the popular www.ipvideomarket.info
Good new voice in the marketplace, but, hey, you can read what he thinks pretty much any time you want.
Peter Michael, P.E., PMP, Principal Engineer, Surveillance, SAIC
Don't know this guy at all, but SAIC is a high-technology integrator. Should be pretty interesting if Hunt lets him talk.
Christopher C. Gettings, Founder & Chairman, videoNEXT
Well, videoNEXT is hosting the thing, so not surprising they're involved.
Hmmm, let's see who's moderating this thing:
Moderator: Garrett Rice, Sr. Manager, Enterprise Sales, Apple Inc.
Um, what? It's funny, because you'd think that computer company Apple would get mad that there's a security firm out there calling themselves Apple Inc. I'd have thought that was a trademark infringement or something.
What's that you say? It's the same company. Like the Apple that recently decided it would completely dominate and take over the worlds of recorded music, wireless phones, and cool commercials? Now they're interested in video surveillance?
(They're sort of modestly included on videoNEXT's partner page. I've never seen Apple on a security company's partner page.)
I hope you people are paying attention. Steve Jobs and Apple do not enter marketplaces half-assedly. They enter marketplaces with the idea of completely changing the way people do business.
Let me be clear: The iPod radically changed my life for the better. There are millions and millions of people who agree with that statement. There's no reason Apple couldn't figure out a way to change a security installer's life for the better.
Oh, and Apple has $20 billion in cash on hand. $20 billion. Like, just about the same amount as Microsoft.
I find Apple's interest in surveillance and security very interesting and I'll have a report with some of the players very soon.
In the meantime, if you're looking for a good download to the iPod, grab the new Dr. Dog disc. Bad name, great band.

Fairly big news in the lock world today: NAPCO has agreed to buy Marks USA for $25 million.
NAPCO's not huge, doing about $65 million annually right now, but it's being aggressive and has had some fast growth in its recent past. Plus, it's starting to show some nice profitability, with a roughly 20 percent net margin in its most recent report.
However, revenues have been relatively stagnant for the past year or so, so it's not surprising the company looked for some non-organic growth.
Marks pretty much is what it is: a company that makes locks. I'm not sure how impressed I am with a little under $4 million in net income on $25 in revenue. I would have guessed higher than a 16 percent net margin for a well established private manufacturer, but I don't totally know what I'm talking about there.

You hear more and more about metal thefts due to the increasing price of scrap, but what about the increasing cost of food leading to more crop thefts? Here in Maine blueberry season is at its peak and according to this local article, blueberry-thieving is too. I'm guessing most of you are unaware how blueberries are harvested, but it involves using this short-handled upside-down rake tool that scoops up the berries. In short, it's back-breaking work, but apparently well worth the effort (from the farmer's perspective maybe not from the laborers). Blueberries are yielding about $1 per pound so we're talking pretty big money for farmers, according to this article.
David Bell, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine, said blueberry thefts total an estimated $100,000 annually. Ã¢â‚¬Å“ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s definitely a six-figure problem,Ã¢â‚¬Â he said. Ã¢â‚¬Å“Any pound of berries that is stolen is pure profit to the person who stole them, so itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a very serious concern to growers.Ã¢â‚¬Â ... Ã¢â‚¬Å“ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to catch someone blue-handed, so to speak, but with berries moving in transit thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s another opportunity to catch the thieves,Ã¢â‚¬Â said Bell of the blueberry commission.
First of all, I love that there is a Wild Blueberry Commission at all and secondly, it's priceless that he used the phrase "blue handed." Who couldn't love Maine?
Anyway, to counter thefts, farmers have begun hiring security guards to patrol their fields, some of which are really out in the middle of Nowheresville, Maine. Apparently the thieves are coming in on four-wheelers and illegally harvesting the crop. Local police have also ramped up efforts to monitor vehicles transporting the precious fruit (you're only allowed to have 25 pounds without a permit) and are also targeting buyers of illegal blues. But, with all the tourist traffic here in Maine, apparently police can't dedicate the manpower needed to protect one of Maine's precious commodities. I guess nothing is safe in this economy.

I'm almost completely enraptured by the Olympics so forgive me if that's where I'm pulling all my source material lately. I just think it's an event of unparalleled world interest (maybe the World Cup rivals it, but I don't think there's nearly the universal interest coming from the U.S., particularly, and from women the world over), and as such fascinating, as much for the sporting achievements as for the human drama.
Did anyone else see Chinese gymnast Cheng Fei just completely choke and still manage to beat out Alicia Sacramone on the women's vault last night? The woman was so nerved up she actually let out a loud scream before she started her second vault (something commentator Tim Daggett said he'd never seen a gymnast do before), then totally shanked her vault, landing on her knees. But by the vagaries of gymnastic scoring, the difficulty of the vault she attempted made up for the suck of her performance. That, plus the fact that a 33-year-old woman who moved from Russia to Germany to get better health care for her cancer-stricken son won the silver medal, made for some serious human drama. How can you not get into something like that?
And what is security if not the attempt to avoid human drama at all costs, I suppose. It's always interesting to see just how highly people value security (or not). Check out this story about about the Olympic sponsors being peeved that security is keeping people from seeing their ads.
I guess I don't blame them. If you're paying $67 million to be a sponsor, I guess you might want people to see your ads. But when does that become just a little selfish? How much sponsorship money is worth how much increased threat and risk?
And how's this for objectivity:
The excessive security, which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had boasted about being its top priority, has made access to the advertising pavilions in the Olympic Green almost completely closed off to the public.
So it's excessive, is it? Says who? Being in this industry, I've grown to have a real appreciation for security practitioners. If something bad happens, the security wasn't good enough. If nothing happens, the security was excessive. There's no way to win there.

According to a story in yesterday's Washington Post the line-up of speakers for the Aug. 25-28 Democratic Convention gives some clues about who Barack Obama will choose for a running mate.
The story says the choice of ex-Virginia Gov. Mark Warner as a keynote speaker means that former Virginia governor Tim Kaine will likely not be the chosen as Obama's running mate. Those in the know say back-to-back speaking roles for Virginians would be unlikely. (Unless of course you think that might help you win Virginia in November.)
There are more clues too. From the story: "Obama's decision to make security the theme on the night his running mate speaks [Wednesday, Aug. 27] is regarded by party observers as a subtle hint that Kaine and other governors without foreign policy credentials might be less likely choices." Veep short listers Sens. Joe Biden and Evan Bayh are both slated to speak on Security Wednesday, however.
Who do you think Obama will choose?

Mace released its 2Q financials today, and it's clear that incoming CEO Dennis Raefield has his work cut out for him.
The top line number looks good, actually, with the company bringing in $15.1 million in the second quarter of 2008, up from $9.0 million in 2007, gross profit as a percentage of revenues at 30% for the second quarter of 2008, compared to 22.1% for the second quarter of 2007.
But other numbers look less good:
Operating loss for the second quarter of 2008 was $3.9 million, compared to $2.1 million in the second quarter of 2007. The increase in the operating loss was principally the result of the increase in SG&A expenses and the recording of asset impairment charges of $2.6 million, partially offset by our overall increase in sales and gross profit. In the second quarter of 2008, in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards ("SFAS") 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, the Company recorded an impairment charge of approximately $1.4 million representing the write-off of the net book value of certain impaired customer relationships within our Digital Media Marketing Segment, as well as the impairment of assets related to two full service car washes in Arlington, Texas of approximately $1.2 million.
Net loss for the second quarter of 2008 was approximately $4.0 million, or $(0.24) per share, compared to a loss of $1.3 million, or $(0.08) per share, for the second quarter of 2007.
Net loss being more than 25% of revenues just doesn't seem good.
Most relevantly,
The increase in total revenues was offset by a slight decline in revenues of approximately $70,000 in Mace's Security Segment, resulting in Security Segment revenues of $5.56 million in the second quarter of 2008, compared to $5.63 million in the same period in 2007. Mace's Security Segment revenues during the second quarter of 2008 as compared to 2007 included an increase in revenues in its personal defense business, offset by a decline in revenues in the Company's consumer direct surveillance and machine vision camera operations. Revenue from the Company's professional surveillance product operation remained constant in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.
In a supposedly growing security systems market, stagnant revenues are a bad sign. Raefield is going to need to come in and do more than streamline things. He's going to have to kick-start their dealer program and get the professional surveillance operation rolling.

I've been following this RegisteredTraveler initiative fairly closely, if only because I travel all the time and would love to get through security a tad quicker. I think $99 a year is a steal if the service is at most airports. I've lost hope that it would ever come to Portland, but I can always dream.
So this story out of San Francisco International Airport has piqued my interest. Apparently, a laptop containing information on 33,000 registered travelers in the Clear/Verified Identity Pass program was stolen - or maybe it wasn't. The Washington Times has most of the story.
Here's the nut:
"We know that the laptop was stolen, and then it reappeared, so it just wasn't simply misplaced. This wasn't a magic act," said San Mateo County Sheriff's Lt. Ray Lunny. "So a criminal investigation is being conducted by the sheriff's office."
I guess my question would be: How do you know it was stolen in the first place? My five-year-old daughter (an accusing alligator) often tells me her little brother has stolen her shoes, toys, favorite book, only to find later that she forgot she put it under her bed so that she wouldn't lose it.
This woman sounds a little like my daughter:
"We don't know what happened," said Allison Beer, VIP spokeswoman. "It is a suspected theft, but the investigation is ongoing."
...
Asked whether any data in the computer had been accessed, Ms. Beer said, "none, there is no indication that it happened, but the TSA investigation is ongoing."
Huh? So how come the Sheriff is sure the laptop was stolen (barring magical intervention), but the people who own the laptop are less sure? And how can we be sure that no information was accessed? Couldn't someone just have copied all the files onto a flash drive and returned the laptop? Or is there a way to tell a file has been copied? That's possible, I suppose.
There's also this part:
The computer went missing on July 26, but VIP failed to notify the TSA until Aug. 3, and the government suspended further registration into the program, which now numbers 180,000.
That seems like a bad decision on somebody's part. Anyway, the information was apparently encrypted (although, these guys aren't exactly swimming in credibility at this point), and didn't contain credit card or biometric information, so I'm not sure what value it would have. Maybe a giant list of spammable email addresses would be valuable to someone.
Maybe they'll all start getting naked pictures of Angelina Jolie?

As we've seen time and again, the most basic rule of security is to remember that people are really gullible and numb.
My favorite and latest case in point? People open spam if promised naked Angelina Jolie photos.
How is an IT security guy supposed to combat that? Sure, you can filter lots of stuff out, and Postini-type services seem to work, but if one slips through the cracks, it's pretty clear that some jamoke is going to open that email. Is it really possible that someone you don't know would just randomly send you naked photos of some celebrity for your perusal? No. It's really not. Are you going to open it anyway, pathetic cube dweller? Yes. Yes you are.
If it makes you males feel any better, the ninth most effective spam subject line promises naked pics of Brad. So women are gullible and desperate, too.
So, it may seem stupid, but it's probably a good idea for security guys to post messages around the office like, "Hey, if you get an email promising naked photos of a celebrity, don't open it. Or you'll be fired." Why be subtle, right?

I thought this bit of people news was interesting: Ray Palomaa has left IQinVision to join Iveda Solutions as sales director. Iveda is a young company and this seems like a good play to grab someone with a lot of IP and security experience.
Looks like Iveda is going to start trying to make some noise in the market:
Established in 2005, this emerging-growth company is launching a major marketing campaign.
The company is gearing up for this launch by beefing up its infrastructure and personnel. RayÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mandate is to grow and manage the companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s direct sales and reseller distribution channel.

A great story in the Chicago Tribune today about how Olympic organizers in that city, hoping to bring the 2016 Summer Games to the States, are taking notes on what's going on in Beijing.
Notably, it's alarming any number of people that with all the security present, it was still impossible to prevent the stabbing of the Bachmans, who have close ties to U.S. Olympic volleyball.
First, note that I linked to an Australian take on the stabbing tragedy and read that closely. For people who haven't traveled abroad much, this is the reality:
The attack on Saturday prompted Australian Olympic boss John Coates to order Australian athletes to wear their team uniform whenever they leave the Olympic Green so they are not mistaken for Americans."Australians are very popular in China," Mr Coates said. "I don't know if the US are felt about the same way."
English-speaking people the world over are at pains to make it known they are not Americans. Whatever your political views, that can't be a great thing.
Anyway, the Chicago article makes the obvious point that all the security in the world can't hope to prevent one rogue crazy person from performing one rogue crazy act. It can simply minimize the chances of such a thing happening and quickly catch that crazy person and restore public confidence. I think it behooves the security industry in general to agree with this point. No security system is going to prevent every possible violent act, and if you go promising that it will, you're going to have egg on your face at some point.
Of particular note in the Chicago article, too, is this paragraph:
And a Chicago plan would include several layers of intelligence activities, with officers looking for so called Ã‚â€œDLRs,Ã‚â€ or folks who Ã‚â€œdonÃ‚â€™t look right,Ã‚â€ such as a person wearing an overcoat in the summer time.
Does that remind anyone of many of the lessons I learned over in Israel? That Americans have come up with a term, DLR, for what is essentially profiling is an indication of our PC society, but it's no matter. What's important is that U.S. security is beginning to be more discriminating (in a good way) in the way it performs its work.